Over the last several weeks people all over the Belmont Addition have been seeing coyotes roaming the neighborhood. We believe they are living at a house in the 6200 block of Prospect, but are visiting us regularly. The City of Dallas does not deal with wildlife, so Animal Control will not respond to any calls about coyotes. Instead they refer us to 911WildLife.com. You can also reach them at 214-368-5911. They can not help in trapping or relocating coyotes, but they have provided information that we can use and teach others. The big takeaways are as follows:

* Be aggressive and scary, reclaim your/our territory. If you see a coyote, yell and make noise, use a loud whistle or alarm sound; throwing something at a coyote is the best method to scare them off, there’s something about making contact with an object that scares them away. Run or walk aggressively towards them. In general, be aggressive! They are no longer afraid of us because we often just watch them, take pictures, shoot video, get on our phones, but we don’t act aggressive towards them typically. Adults and children are fine, walking your dog on a leash is fine, they will not attack randomly, day or night and they’re very afraid of people. Humans are not at risk, animals over 10 lbs are typically not at risk. However, we must exude aggression when we see them to keep that balance.

* Time feed your outdoor cats or other animals, especially those who feed feral or neighborhood cats. This means, put food out at a certain time and pick it back up at a certain time, never leave it out overnight. This feeds our neighborhoods kitties, but it also attracts other critters that are prey for the coyotes. The coyotes are looking for food, be it what you/we set out for our outside kitties or the small critters like possum, raccoons and other rodents that come to eat it. All animals under 10lbs are at risk if there are no humans around. This goes for our back yards too. A coyote can clear (or climb) a 10′ fence. That’s not they’re preference and they don’t typically do it, but they will if they’re hungry enough, and make no mistake they are hungry.

Coyotes have always been in our neighborhood, the population has not necessarily increased. We’re just seeing more of them and it’s partially our own fault. Our police are not trained to handle and animal control usually can’t catch them unless they’re sick. We are advised not to poison them and it’s illegal to shoot a firearm in the city. However, we can make a difference with these 2 major actions – be scary and aggressive if you see one, make it know it’s not welcome where humans live and walk, and secondly time feed your outdoor pets. They no longer just roam at night, although that’s their preference. They are now actively seen in broad daylight, making a bed or sleeping on front porches and back yards. They’re brazen now, so we must act to curtail the situation and drive them back into hiding or new territory.